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Old March 1st, 2022 #201
alex revision
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Switzerland mulls a commission to judge Nazi-looted art claims

March 1, 2021

More than three-quarters of a century after the end of World War II, the Swiss parliament is set to debate a new framework for handling claims for art looted from Jews by the Nazis or sold under duress.

A parliamentary motion, to be submitted by the Social Democratic Party lawmaker Jon Pult, calls for “an independent commission which issues recommendations in cases of cultural property lost as a result of Nazi persecution.” It comes in response to a barrage of criticism over the display of Emil Georg Bührle’s controversial collection in a new extension to Zurich’s Kunsthaus art museum, opened in October.

Bührle made his fortune by selling arms to Germany during World War II, bought Nazi-looted art, and profited from slave labour. The Bührle Foundation, which owns the approximately 200 works on show in the museum, says none of these were looted from Jews. But claimants say that without independent provenance research and a neutral panel to evaluate claims for Nazi-looted art, they have no access to a fair hearing.

“The story of the Emil Bührle collection has shown that the subject is bigger and more explosive that people realised,” Pult says. “We need better instruments.”

In his reasoning for the motion, Pult wrote that “Switzerland would be making its contribution to addressing a dark chapter of history and living up to its responsibility in handling cultural property lost as a result of Nazi persecution” by setting up an independent panel. The motion, which he plans to submit to parliament next week, is backed by the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, an association of Jewish groups.

Inconsistent approach

Switzerland, which served as a hub for Nazi-looted art before and during World War II, is among 44 governments and organisations that endorsed the non-binding Washington Principles in 1998. Under these principles, governments agreed to encourage museums to conduct provenance research, identify art seized by the Nazis, and seek “just and fair solutions” with the original Jewish collectors and their heirs for works lost due to persecution. They also agreed to establish “alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for resolving ownership issues.”

While France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the U.K all set up panels to assess claims for Nazi-looted art in museum collections, 23 years after the Washington Principles were agreed, Switzerland has so far not done so. Last month, former members of the Bergier commission – an international panel established in 1996 to investigate Switzerland’s financial dealings during World War II – described the Bührle situation as “an affront” to victims and called for such a panel to be created.

“Why does Switzerland not have an independent entity, as many other countries do, that works to find a just and fair solution for all parties in disputed property issues?” the commission members asked.

Pult says he has support from four parties in parliament for his motion and hopes the government will adopt it. “It is in Switzerland’s interest from a foreign policy point of view in terms of credibility,” he says, adding the initiative is “better late than never.”

Anne Webber, the co-chair of the London-based Commission for Looted Art in Europe, says Switzerland’s approach to Nazi-looted art since endorsing the Washington Principles has been “erratic and inconsistent.”

“It has made regular commitments but has not fulfilled them,” Webber says. “The federal government promises fair and just solutions, but there is no framework to ensure those are provided.”

The government’s position so far has been that there are not enough cases to warrant a panel. But Benno Widmer, the head of the museums and collections department of the Federal Office for Culture, said last month that “if the need intensifies due to an increasing number of contentious cases, then the demand for an external commission could be re-examined.”

Precedents

Advocates for a panel point out that there have already been several claims for Nazi-looted art in Switzerland. The Bern fine arts museum (Kunstmuseum) , for instance, inherited the controversial hoard of the reclusive Cornelius Gurlitt. His father, Hildebrand Gurlitt, had served as a dealer and art buyer for Adolf Hitler in occupied Europe. Fourteen works from the bequest have so far been restituted to the heirs of Jewish collectors whose art was looted or sold under duress.

“Bern’s decision to take on the Gurlitt bequest marked a seismic shift in Switzerland,” says Andrea Raschèr, an independent consultant who ran the department of legal and international affairs at the Federal Office of Culture from 1995 to 2006. “The Kunstmuseum chose to be transparent and apply the Washington Principles. Questions remain unanswered in other museums, and one answer is an independent commission. This commission should have been set up 15 years ago.”

In Raschèr’s view, a new panel should be “fully independent and its members should be an optimal mix of lawyers, ethicists and historians. It is worth looking closely at both the German and British models.” And as Pult’s motion points out, there may be more work for the panel in years to come. Swiss museums are also examining their colonial-era collections. Museums in other countries, including Germany, the U.K. and the U.S., have pledged to return objects looted in 1897 in a British raid on the royal kingdom of Benin, in modern-day Nigeria. Eight Swiss museums have pooled their resources to examine the provenance of their own Benin collections. The research project is expected to conclude in summer 2022.

“We should examine whether the commission could also issue recommendations on cultural goods from other contexts, namely colonial,” Pult’s motion says.

One of the key criticisms of Switzerland’s record is the distinction made between Nazi-looted art and what museums call “Fluchtgut,” or “flight assets” – works that Jewish collectors sold under duress, often to finance their escape from Nazi Germany. German museums use the collective term of “losses due to Nazi persecution” and treat all such claims as potential restitution cases to be weighed individually.

In Switzerland, however, museums have traditionally viewed purchases of “flight assets” as legitimate. Art sold by Jews in financial straits because of the Nazis’ confiscation of their assets to fund their escape from Germany is not necessarily viewed as eligible for restitution. Pult’s motion proposes that a new panel should not make this distinction.

There will, of course be opposition to Pult’s plans. Christoph Blocher, an art collector and former leader of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, wrote in an essay for the weekly magazine Weltwoche that the debate over the Bührle collection was the symptom of a “morally corrupted society.” Calls for a panel, Blocher wrote, were about historians and lawyers hoping for lucrative commissions.

“I simply don’t expect a fast development, because resistance from the museums and private collectors will be considerable,” says Olaf Ossmann, a lawyer specialised in Nazi-looted art cases who is based in Switzerland. “The museums will find every means to oppose this.”

Webber, the co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, is not giving up hope just yet.

“It’s to be hoped that that the Gurlitt bequest to Bern and the Bührle situation in Zurich will have lit a touch-paper so that the Swiss government embraces the issues comprehensively and addresses them with real determination and commitment,” she says. “The problem is not going to go away until it does.”

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/switzer...ce=swissinfoch
 
Old March 1st, 2022 #202
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Russia sanctions: Nord Stream 2 fires more than 140 people in Zug




Swiss-based company Nord Stream 2, which is in charge of the gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany, has made employees redundant as a result of sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This content was published on March 1, 2022 - 18:17 March 1, 2022 - 18:17

More than 140 people have lost their jobs at the company, based in the Swiss town of Zug in central Switzerland, according to Economics Minister Guy Parmelin.

“We have learnt that all the staff of Nord Stream 2 [...] in Zug, i.e. more than 140 people, have been made redundant,” he told Swiss public radio, RTSExternal link, on Monday evening.

The job cuts were confirmed on Tuesday by the company which reportedly considers filing for insolvency.

A member of the Zug cantonal government told Blick television Nord Stream 2 is bankrupt and it has problems paying its debts.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/russia-...&utm_content=o
 
Old March 20th, 2022 #203
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Swiss intake of Ukrainian refugees could be the largest in decades




Switzerland may end up taking in far more Ukrainian refugees than government authorities initially estimated, according to a report by the NZZ am Sonntag. The education system will need to adapt.

March 20, 2022

The Alpine nation is expected to experience the largest influx of refugees in decades, notes the German-language weekly in its Sunday edition.

Swiss Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter calculated that 50,000 refugees could reach Switzerland by June. But cantonal authorities tasked with dealing with the new arrivals expect as many as 300,000 refugees to reach Switzerland by the end of the year.

Between 500 to 1,000 Ukrainian refugees have been arriving in Switzerland daily in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The cantons must adapt to this situation, according to Marcel Suter, president of the cantonal migration authorities, who was quoted by the newspaper.

The conflict in Ukraine has triggered mass displacement at a level and speed unseen in Europe since World War II. More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled their country in less than a month, including some 1.5 million children, according to the latest figures.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-i...medium=display
 
Old March 26th, 2022 #204
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Switzerland freezes sanctioned Russian assets worth more than $6 billion


Mar 25, 2022, 08:40 pm IST



A government official said on Thursday that Switzerland had frozen roughly 5.75 billion Swiss francs ($6.17 billion) in Russian assets subject to sanctions, and that figure is certain to climb.

‘For the first time today, I can offer you an estimate of the amount of frozen funds. SECO has received notification of monies and assets totaling around 5.750 billion Swiss francs,’ said Erwin Bollinger, a senior official at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the institution in charge of penalty enforcement.
https://www.eastcoastdaily.in/2022/0...6-billion.html
 
Old June 1st, 2022 #205
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1 Jun, 2022 11:55 Home Russia & FSU

Switzerland bans NATO member from sending arms to Ukraine


Switzerland has rebuffed Denmark’s request to re-export Swiss-made armored vehicles to Kiev, citing its neutrality stance

The Swiss government has vetoed Denmark's request to supply Ukraine with Swiss-made armored vehicles, citing its neutrality policy, broadcaster SRF reported on Wednesday.

Copenhagen planned to donate Piranha III armored personnel carriers to Ukraine for use in the conflict with Russia. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, however, rejected a request to send around 20 of the vehicles to Kiev.

Denmark previously committed itself not to re-export Swiss-made weapons to other countries without Bern’s approval.

While Switzerland has partially abandoned its long-standing neutrality policy in joining sanctions against Russia over the military offensive against Ukraine, Bern has said its neutrality does not permit the provision of arms for use in conflict zones.
https://www.rt.com/russia/556431-swi...-sending-arms/
 
Old June 26th, 2022 #206
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Swiss customs reviews imports of Russian gold worth $200M


Switzerland is a global hub for precious metals with the country’s handful of refineries handling about two-thirds of the world’s gold.



Switzerland has annually imported a total of about $280bn worth of gold in recent years [File: Denis Balibouse/Reuters]

Published On 24 Jun 2022
24 Jun 2022

Swiss customs authorities are tracking three tonnes of gold of Russian origin that entered Switzerland from the UK last month to watch for potential violations of economic sanctions against Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Officials are looking into the import of 3.1 tonnes of Russian gold in May, the first imports since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

The gold is worth 194 million Swiss francs ($202m), officials said on Friday.

The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security said it consistently monitors imports of gold from Russia, which it said are not prohibited under a raft of Swiss sanctions against Moscow imposed over Russia’s invasion.

It said in a statement it could not for legal reasons say who imported the gold of Russian origin from the United Kingdom.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/...old-worth-200m
 
Old June 30th, 2022 #207
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For the banning of the Hitler salute and the swastika in Switzerland

June 30, 2022

The Federal Commission against Racism is in favor of banning the Nazi salute and the swastika in Switzerland

The Federal Council does not want to ban Nazi symbols. The Federal Commission against Racism now makes a different recommendation.

In a motion, Central National Councilor Marianne Binder calls for Nazi symbols to be banned. The Federal Council recommended the rejection of the proposal last February. The state government has been met with a lack of understanding from various quarters.

The Federal Commission against Racism has just released a statement. The Commission advocates the prohibition of racist symbols.

It is “important to send a clear signal”
In view of this development, the Commission considers it “important to send a clear signal that racist symbols cannot be tolerated in public”.

When implementing a ban, it should be taken into account that if racist symbols are obviously used for purposes other than the dissemination of racist ideas – for example in a campaign against neo-Nazis or in the context of art, science and education – this should not be punishable.

Criticism of the Federation of the Jewish Community
In its negative assessment of Marianne Binder’s request, the Federal Council stressed that making racist propaganda, that is to say influencing third parties and trying to win them over to the ideology, already constitutes a criminal offence.

The mere fact that a person publicly expresses sympathy for a discriminatory ideology does not constitute propaganda.

A Nazi symbol sewn onto a jacket is therefore permitted. The Federal Council referred to freedom of expression. According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, it must be accepted that reprehensible opinions are also represented – even if they are untenable for the majority.

The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the Platform of Liberal Jews described the Federal Council’s position as “incomprehensible”. Both organizations referred to Germany and other countries where any Nazi symbol is banned.

The Federal Office of Justice is currently investigating the matter.
Last March, Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP) instructed the Federal Office of Justice to examine the need for action and the legal options in this regard. The Federal Office is also analyzing how the ban on racist symbols works abroad. The report on the subject should be finished soon.

The statement by the Federal Commission against Racism now strengthens the camp of those who want to ban either Nazi symbols or racist symbols in general. So far, the Federal Council has taken the position that prevention in this area is more appropriate than penal repression: there is an agency specializing in the fight against racism; it designs, promotes and coordinates activities at the federal, cantonal and municipal levels.

https://www.thebharatexpressnews.com...n-switzerland/
 
Old June 30th, 2022 #208
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Originally Posted by alex revision View Post
For the banning of the Hitler salute and the swastika in Switzerland
Its very surprising that those are still legal because they banned holocaust revisionism quite a few years ago already.
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Political correctness is an intellectual gulag.
 
Old July 9th, 2022 #209
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Small rise in Russian assets frozen in Switzerland


The Swiss authorities have so far frozen CHF6.7 billion ($6.8 billion) of assets belonging to sanctioned Russians. This represents a CHF400 million increase since mid-May.

This content was published on July 9, 2022

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the government department responsible for handling sanctions, announced the figure on July 8. The total of blocked assets includes 15 properties.

The amount has hardly changed since CHF6.3 billion in frozen Russian assets were reported in mid-May.

“The amount of frozen assets does not make it possible to measure the effectiveness of the sanctions. It only provides a snapshot and can vary in one direction or the other,” SECO said in a statementExternal link on its website.

Switzerland has taken over all EU sanctions packages against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24; the latest being the European embargo on Russian crude oil imports, approved by the Swiss government on June 10.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/small-r...medium=display
 
Old July 18th, 2022 #210
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18 Jul, 2022 17:55 Home World News

Switzerland turns down NATO request on Ukrainians


Bern has refused to treat Ukrainian civilians, arguing that they are “indistinguishable” from soldiers, local media report

The Swiss federal government has turned down a request to treat wounded Ukrainians, arguing that the move would violate the Alpine nation’s neutral status, the country’s Tages Anzeiger newspaper has learned. The request was made by a NATO department.

The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre – a NATO structure that currently coordinates international medical evacuations and treatment of Ukrainians injured during the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev – reportedly reached out to the Swiss Army’s Coordinated Medical Service (KSD) in May. The military bloc sought aid from Swiss medics in caring for not just Ukrainian soldiers but for civilians in need of hospital treatment as well, media reported on Monday.
https://www.rt.com/news/559198-switz...est-ukrainian/
 
Old August 31st, 2022 #211
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30 Aug, 2022 16:42 Home World News

Pussy Riot members detained in Switzerland


Police in the canton of Bern arrested the controversial activists over an “anti-war action”

Members of the Russian activist group Pussy Riot were detained in the Swiss town of Koeniz on Monday evening. The three women – Maria Alyokhina, Lucy Stein, and Taso Pletner – were taken to a police station “in handcuffs” after spraying graffiti on a wall next to a road, the group said on Facebook.

The cantonal police confirmed the “temporary arrest of three Russian nationals” but provided no details about their identity for data protection reasons. The officers showed up at the scene after receiving a report that individuals were spraying graffiti, and discovered the three with spray cans in their hands, Swiss media reported.
https://www.rt.com/news/561830-pussy...d-switzerland/
 
Old September 19th, 2022 #212
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Anti-Semitism in the Swiss left – still a taboo?


September 18, 2022 - 10:00
Benjamin von Wyl

(...) To find out how anti-Semitism is perceived in left-wing political circles, SWI swissinfo.ch spoke to Swiss Jewish people, historians and activists who consider themselves to be on the left of the political spectrum.
(...)
Although anti-Semitism was part of everyday life in the conservative valley of German-speaking Switzerland where Malcus grew up, he says he succeeded in educating a small group of his friends that not all Jewish people were rich. This helped dispel some of the other stereotypical, anti-Semitic notions held by his peers, with whom he used to squat houses. When he ventured out of the valley and addressed global issues as inequality and exploitation, he realised that anti-Semitism was not only rife in his community. At political gatherings, he regularly witnessed hostilities being expressed towards Israel.

“Slogans like ‘We will burn down your country’ were not directed at me, but I heard them,” says Malcus.

At demonstrations against the war in Iraq or the World Economic Forum in Davos, Malcus was perturbed by the demeaning cartoons of capitalists that were used on banners as they reminded him of how anti-Semitic caricatures were used against Jews in the past: puppet-masters pulling the strings from behind the scenes. A good example of this occurred 2016 when the youth section of the Social Democratic Party published a cartoon of a lobbyist for the financial market with a big nose, a cylinder hat and side curls to protest against food speculation.

“Anti-Semitism is a master of metamorphosis,” says Dina Wyler, managing director of the Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism. “It adapts to the current narrative and often comes to the surface by way of images or buzzwords. In this way it remains ‘socially acceptable’"

Demonising Israel

The antagonism against Israel Malcus experienced among the left in the 2000s is not new. It has been around for decades. During his childhood in Zurich during the Second World War, Swiss psychoanalyst and politician Emanuel Hurwitz was pelted with stones by other children who yelled anti-Semitic insults at him.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/anti-se...aboo-/47905924
 
Old September 20th, 2022 #213
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Save energy by showering together, Swiss told

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...told-mr9dq3n6h

Save energy by showering together, Swiss told

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...swiss-25050641

 
Old September 22nd, 2022 #214
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21 Sep, 2022 19:08 Home World News

Switzerland considers rare step on conscription


The Swiss government is trying to prevent a significant decrease in the size of its armed forces

Military service may become mandatory for women in Switzerland due to a shortage of army personnel, the country’s ATS news agency reported on Wednesday. Currently, female volunteers make up less than 1% of the Swiss Army, while the overall number of troops is projected to significantly decrease in the coming years.

The Swiss government has submitted a report on the shortage of personnel in its armed forces and in civil protection to the national parliament’s upper chamber, according to the ATS. Ministers have proposed two options to address the matter.

“The first is to make service compulsory for Swiss women, which would make it possible to double the numbers,” the article reads.

This idea, as the Swiss government explained in March, was inspired by Norway, which introduced gender-neutral conscription in 2013.
https://www.rt.com/news/563280-switz...-conscription/
 
Old September 28th, 2022 #215
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Calls grow to ban Nazi symbols and salutes

September 27, 2022

Displaying a Nazi symbol or making a Nazi salute in public is not always a crime in Switzerland. A number of parliamentary motions – and the Council of the Swiss Abroad – now want zero tolerance. Initially hesitant, the government is now looking into the matter.

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politic...lutes/47749640
 
Old October 22nd, 2022 #216
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The Swiss government backs the globalist jew-puppet Maia Sandu who is currently running Moldova:

Quote:
Switzerland backs Moldova amid Ukraine crisis




Swiss President Ignazio Cassis has been meeting with his counterpart in Moldova, which hosts many Ukrainian refugees. Keystone / Pascal Lauener

Swiss President Ignazio Cassis thanked his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu for her country’s solidarity with Ukraine at a meeting in Chisinau, capital of Moldova, on Friday.

This content was published on October 21, 2022 - 19:02 October 21, 2022 - 19:02

Keystone-SDA/jc

The meeting focused on the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian situation, according to a foreign affairs spokesperson quoted by the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA. Cassis also promised Switzerland’s support. Sandu said she had talked about development in the region, energy, education and economic cooperation, and that this second visit by Cassis was a great indication of support.

Cassis also paid a visit to Moldova last March, when he announced an increase of two million francs in humanitarian aid. A Swiss health team is assisting Ukrainian women and children in Chisinau.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/switzer...medium=display
 
Old October 31st, 2022 #217
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Lula election ‘victory for Brazilian rain forest and indigenous people’


Swiss politicians and NGOs have welcomed the presidential election victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil.

This content was published on October 31, 2022

swissinfo.ch/mga

While there was no reaction from the Swiss government, several political parties took to social media to celebrate Lula’s success and the end of Jair Bolsonaro’s rightwing presidency.

The centre-left Social Democratic Party tweeted that the result is a “victory of democracy, for more social justice and climate protection”.

The Green Party spoke of an “election victory that gives hope - for democracy, human rights, global climate protection”.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/lula-el...&utm_content=o
 
Old November 9th, 2022 #218
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Switzerland blocks German shipment of ammunition to Ukraine


Thursday, 3 November 2022
By Dylan Carter



35mm FLAK rounds used by the German Gepard anti-aircraft defence system, scheduled to be delivered to Ukraine. Switzerland will block the transfer of this ammunition, critically needed to protect Ukraine from aerial attack. Credit: Derwatz/Wikimedia Commons

Switzerland has blocked Germany from sending its Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine on Wednesday. The ammunition was destined to equip Ukrainian anti-air defence vehicles which Germany is planning to deliver to Kyiv.

Ukrainian authorities have stated that they are in desperate need of anti-air equipment, especially in light of drone and rocket attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

“There is still no reason to respond favourably to Germany’s request to send Swiss war material to Ukraine,” said Guy Parmelin, Swiss Minister of Economy in a letter to German Defence Minister, Christine Lambrecht. The Swiss official cited Switzerland’s neutrality and legislation on the deliveries of war materials in its official refusal.



The German Gepard 1A2 anti-air tank. Germany will transfer 15 of these vehicles to help protect Ukrainian airspace. Credit: Hans-Hermann Bühling/Wikimedia Commons
https://www.brusselstimes.com/316699...ion-to-ukraine
 
Old November 25th, 2022 #219
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24 Nov, 2022 09:28 Home World News

Switzerland rules on arms deliveries to Russia and Ukraine


Debate has raged in the Alpine nation about how its alignment with the EU, in support of Kiev, affects neutrality

Switzerland has prohibited weapons exports to Russia, a measure which will be partially applicable to Ukraine as well, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced on Wednesday.

It cited the nation’s traditional neutrality. However, officials did not clarify what partial restrictions have been put in place for Kiev.

In a statement, the ministry said Bern had joined the latest package of EU sanctions against Moscow, which was adopted by the bloc in early October.

In addition to these restrictions, Switzerland slapped Russia with an arms embargo, which “is being partly extended to Ukraine for the reasons of Swiss neutrality.” The arms embargoes had been imposed based on Swiss war material and goods control laws, but now the measures have been “explicitly included in the regulation in connection with the situation in Ukraine,” the SECO statement read.
https://www.rt.com/news/567088-switz...raine-embargo/
 
Old November 30th, 2022 #220
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Swiss SMEs threatened with bankruptcy due to energy crisis: Survey


Energy crisis is hitting Swiss SMEs hard, according to pan-European survey

Ekip | 30.11.2022



BERN

The energy crisis could lead to a wave of bankruptcies among small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Switzerland, according to a survey by European payment services provider Sumup.

Sumup conducted the pan-European survey in Switzerland, Germany, France, the UK and Italy.

A total of 127 SMEs from Switzerland, including restaurants, bakeries, retailers and hairdressers, took part in the survey.

The companies are now responding with sometimes drastic measures to prevent business closures.

According to the survey, 47% of companies are saving on electricity and 44% are raising prices. But not all of them can raise prices as high as they want.

Some 28% of SMEs want to reduce labor costs, while 21% have reduced their profit margins.

Also, 19% are increasing weekly working hours.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/swis...survey/2752357
 
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